Iowa City Council seeks input on city manager position

IOWA CITY - It was two months ago that Geoff Fruin was appointed from assistant to the city manager in Iowa City to the community's interim city manager.

Now the Iowa City Council plans to decide whether they will drop the 'interim” from Fruin's title, or embark on a national search for city manager candidates.

'The threshold question is, do we appoint Geoff or do we want to do the national search?” Mayor Jim Throgmorton said Thursday. 'It's important to get a highly qualified city manager - whether Geoff or someone else - who is a great fit for our city.”

Before the full council takes on that discussion, they are seeking input from the public.

Fruin was hired as assistant to the city manager in 2011 by then-City Manager Tom Markus. Before that, he was assistant city manager in Normal, Ill.

Fruin was appointed to interim city manager this March, following Markus' resignation. Markus is now city manager in Lawrence, Kan.

When the council appointed Fruin to interim city manager, they said they planned to take up discussion on a permanent city manager a few months down the road.

Throgmorton said that time has come.

'We were considering this question, but now we need to get on it,” Throgmorton said.

Public comment will be accepted through June 10, and the council could make a decision later in June.

Markus had estimated hiring a national search firm would cost around $20,000 to $30,000 and the search process could take between 90 and 180 days.

If a national search firm is hired, Fruin could still apply as a candidate.

Fruin said in a Thursday email that his transition to interim city manager has been made easier with the help of fellow city staff members.

'The transition into the interim role has been very smooth. In an organization of our size, we routinely face situations where we have interim roles and vacant positions. Everyone chips in and we stay focused on delivering high quality public services and providing great customer service. This situation has been no different,” he said in the email.

Throgmorton said the feedback he's received from city staff and members of the public on Fruin's role as interim city manager has been largely positive. But, he added, the final decision will be made by the full council.

'In terms of how he's performed his role as interim city manager thus far, I think he's done an excellent job, but again, that doesn't answer the question before us,” Throgmorton said.

To provide input:

Comments can be emailed to CityManagerSearch@iowa-city.org.

Written comments can be mailed to:

c/o City Clerk

City of Iowa City

410 E. Washington St.

Iowa City, Iowa 52240

Anonymous correspondence will not be accepted and input will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. June 10.